The weather is turning cool, the leaves are starting to change colors, and it's time for a new pattern! I'd like to introduce Jayda Cowl.

It all started with this beautiful skein of Djinni Sock that I bought at Stitches South a couple years ago.

As I have already said many times, I love handpainted yarns. But the very colorful ones sit in my stash for awhile, because I try to pick my stitch patterns carefully. I want to show off the lovely range of colors, but also don't want the stitch pattern to be overwhelmed.

While working on design submissions I created a lace pattern that I ended up not using for anything. It was too pretty to set aside, so I decided to turn it into a cowl and use up some of my pretty sock yarns. The larger version of Jayda Cowl flew off my needles in only a few knitting sessions. I love that it is big enough to wear around my neck or around my upper body as a shawl.

But, a huge cowl might not be for everyone, so I decided to make a smaller version as well. I've had some Knit Picks Imagination in my stash for awhile in the Ruby Slippers colorway. I'm a huge fan of The Wizard of Oz, so of course I had to buy it. I love red, and one of my favorite hats is a plain red beret I made from some handspun, handdyed llama. Now I have a bright red cowl to match! The smaller version of the cowl uses only 175 yds, so it is a quick knit that is great for using up leftover sock yarns.

Jayda is currently 25% off on Ravelry until midnight September 30, 2013. No coupon code is needed.

Last Saturday was one of those days for me that involved a few tears. Nothing major, no big disasters in my house, but just enough emotion that I felt the need to hide in my room for awhile. And what does a sad knitter do to feel better? Why, look at yarn of course. I really was going to just surf Ravelry to distract myself, when I happened to see a notebook ad for KeepinKnitReal's shop on Etsy. It took about half a second for the vibrant colorways to suck me in.

Earlier in the day I had been contemplating a new design, and was wishing I had a blue handpainted sock yarn that would show off cables nicely. I didn't have anything like that in my stash and some grumbling ensued. But I found Cloud Nine on Rockin and it was perfect. In fact, I found two more perfect yarns and have to dream up some designs for those as well.

After I got over my funk, I emerged from my room. My husband asked in a timid voice, "Would some new yarn make you feel better?" Yes, dear, in fact it would.

My package arrived today, and my new yarns were bundled up so nicely like presents.

It almost felt like my birthday all over again, getting to untie bows and unroll tissue paper. After all the unwrapping, here is what I found:

Cloud Nine on Rockin'

Hotel California on Rockin'

House of the Rising Sun on Cruisin'

I'm a big sucker for handpainted yarns, and it was really hard to choose only three colors. Yellow is my favorite color, and I hardly ever see any handpainted yellows, so I knew I had to snatch that one up. House of the Rising Sun looked like such a beautiful and delicate color palette I couldn't resist.

Now I just have to find the time for knitting! I have some commissioned projects that take priority, so I'm making a nice little queue on the new table in my office. Time to stretch out my wrists and knit!

Keepinknitreal is having a 20% off promotion until the end of the month, so hurry over if you want to take advantage of it.

Disclaimer: I have not received any sort of compensation for this review. Just wanted to gush about my new beautiful, squooshy yarn!!

By now I have recovered from my epic knitting fail and have been working on some new projects. One of them is a lovely lace cowl called Jayda.

I'm looking for a few knitters to help me test Jayda Cowl. If you're interested, sign up on Ravelry here.

Jayda Cowl is worked in the round in a lace pattern of diamonds and X’s. Two sizes are provided in the pattern; circumference and length are easy to customize. The smaller version is a fun, quick knit that is perfect for using up leftover sock yarn. The larger version can be worn as a large cowl around the neck or around the upper body as a shawl. Stitch pattern is charted.FINISHED MEASUREMENTS 30.5 (41)” circumference and 6.5 (12.25)” longNumber of testers: 6Deadline: September 23, 2013.Tools: US #5/3.75mm 24” circular needleMaterials: 175 (420) yards fingering weight yarn. Difficulty: Intermediate. Must be able to: read a chart work in the round k2tog ssk sk2p yo